A Hybrid Physical Co-Simulation Smart Grid Testbed for Testing and Impact Analysis of Cyber-Attacks on Power Systems: Framework and Attack Scenarios

Abstract

With the deployment of numerous innovative smart grid technologies in modern power systems, more real-time communication and control are required due to the complexity and proliferation of grid-connected systems, making a power system a typical cyber-physical system (CPS). However, these systems are also exposed to new cyber vulnerabilities. Therefore, understanding the intricate interplay between the cyber and physical domains and the potential effects on the power system of successful attacks is essential. For cybersecurity experimentation and impact analysis, developing a comprehensive testbed is needed. This paper presents a state-of-the-art Hybrid Physical Co-simulation SG testbed at FIU developed for in-depth studies on the impact of communication system latency and failures, physical events, and cyber-attacks on the grid. The Hybrid SGTB is designed to take full advantage of the benefits of both co-simulation-based and physical-based testbeds. Based on this testbed, various attack strategies are tested, including man-in-the-middle (MitM), denial-of-service (DoS), data manipulation (DM), and setting tampering (change) on various power system topologies to analyze their impacts on grid stability, power flow, and protection reliability. Our research, which is based on extensive testing on several testbeds, shows that using hybrid testbeds is justified as both practical and effective.